Denver Ski Injury Attorneys

Get Professional Help after a Ski Trip Goes Wrong

Colorado may be the best place in the United States for skiing, but an abundance of skiing venues means serious injuries are more likely.

When a ski resort makes a safety error, a ski outing can go wrong in a matter of minutes. In the 2016/2017 season, 44 skiers and snowboarders died in the United States, and many more suffered injuries, according to the National Ski Areas Association. When a resort could have prevented an injury through reasonable safety measures, we at Leventhal & Puga, P.C., strongly believe they owe the injured victims full and fair compensation. Please call (303) 759-9945 to speak to a top ski injury trial lawyer today. We take care of our clients.

How Most Ski Injuries Occur

Collisions. Nine of the ten skiers and snowboarders killed at Colorado resorts in 2015-2016 were involved in collisions. Seven people hit tees, one hit a fixed post, and one hit another skier. The tenth died after suffocating in an area of snow surrounding a tree, known as a tree well. Skiers are supposed to abide by speed rules and should be penalized by resorts when caught going too fast down the mountain. In the event that one skier collides with another, the uphill skier is likely to blame, but he/she may not be the only one.

Ski lifts. While ski-lift accidents are less common than downhill accidents, they are extremely dangerous. Ski-lifts malfunctions can drop riders onto the ground below. In the past, lift malfunctions have been due to welding failure, wire entanglement, and detachable quad lift failure (Coloradoan). Leventhal & Puga, P.C., is handling a case involving a Colorado ski resort that had been warned of a “dangerously swaying” chairlift – including by two engineers. The company did nothing, and about a week later, a chair knocked into a tower, dropping a mother and her two daughters 25 feet into the hard-packed snow below. The mother did not survive; the girls sustained critical injuries.

Who Is Liable After a Ski Injury?

If you’ve been injured at a ski resort, speak to an experienced Denver personal injury lawyer immediately. Because skiing is a considered an inherently dangerous sport, ski resorts are typically immune from liability when ski injuries are caused by an inherent risk of skiing.

However, your legal team may be able to prove negligence, or failure to use reasonable care, when the ski resort causes harm outside of the inherent risks of skiing. Going back to our earlier example, a ski lift malfunction is by no means the fault of the skier, and the ski resort is liable.

If you’ve been injured due to the actions of another skier, negligence - and thus fault - can usually be proven if the skier violated rules stated in the Skier Responsibility Code. If resort staff on the slopes did not take measures to curb a dangerous behavior and protect other guests, the resort, too, may be held liable.

Work with an Experienced Ski Collision Lawyer

No one deserves to suffer due to a ski resort or skier’s carelessness. If you’ve been injured in a skiing accident, you should call a local personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Every state has deadlines for filing lawsuits called statutes of limitations, and the longer one waits, the less evidence may be available.

The attorneys at Leventhal and Puga, P.C., have handled ski-related litigation and will fight for you after someone else’s mistake caused you harm. Though many lawyers in Colorado refuse to take cases against ski resorts due to their popularity and legal protections afforded by the state, we believe any negligence that hurts another person is unacceptable. We have the resources, talent, and work ethic to allow our clients to focus on recovery, while we ensure that they can pay for medical bills, lost time at work, and other expenses caused by the injury.

If you would like to speak with a top trial lawyer at Leventhal & Puga, P.C., about your potential case, please give our Denver office a call at (303) 759-9945. There is no charge for an initial consultation. And because we work on a contingency fee basis, there is no charge for us to represent you unless we win your claim.

Denver Personal Injury Law Firm Disclaimer: The information presented on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice, nor the formation of an attorney–client relationship. Any results set forth herein are based upon the facts of that particular case and do not represent a promise or guarantee. Please contact a lawyer for a consultation on your particular legal matter.